Cue tip



June 10, 1930. J CROQKSTQN 1,763,612

CUE TIP Filed Sept. 17. 1921 I v lnvenzan' Patented June 10, 1930 UNITEDSTATES JAMES B. CROOKSTON, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA CUE TIPApplication filed September 17, 1921. Serial No. 501,494.

My invention relates to the making of cue tipsfor billiard and poolcues, from blanks of suitable compressible material. One of theprincipal objects of my invention is to effect a substantial reductionof the time and labor required in the tipping of cues. Another object isto produce a finished cue tip that may be adhesively attached to the cuepoint and be ready to use as soon as the adhesive is dry without cuttingor shaping and which shall embody the advantages of being of the exactform desired, of containing the maximum amount of material within agiven compass, of possessing such form, density and firmness throughout,as to give the necessary resilient effect, and ofbeing exempt fromliabilityto go flat or change form in use. Such cue tip is made in anydesired number of sizes to fit the different sized cue points met within practice. 7

The improvement claimed is hereinafter fully set forth.

Cue tips in the form of blanks or unfinished articles of more or lessrounded or convex playing surface and circular bottom have heretoforebeen furnished the trade in several sizes, each blank having a diameterin excess of that of the end of the cue to which it is to be attached,so as to allow for trimming and finishing. In ordinary practice, theblank tip is first flattened with a hammer or in a vise, and thencemented to the cue. After this operation, the tip is then trimmed,around its periphery, to that of the cue-point, and its playing facealso trimmed ofi, or somewhat rounded in form, preferably convex, andleavinga base portion above the bottom. It

- is then further dressed by sand paper, to reduce the playing surfaceand side as smooth and evenly as possible, then polished by friction andfinally chalked, after which operations it is ready for use. i

The above operations are not only slow and tedious, but require theservices of an expert to properly finish the tips foruse, and even then,desired density of playing surface cannot be obtained because thenatural or'molecular structure is so easily ruptured, but even thenthere is no assurance that the finished tip will not go flat and requireredressing to bring it back to its proper playing condition. Again, ithas been found that approximately thirty percent of the tip blanks aretoo soft to permit flattening and trimming, and that in so working, theunder leather or disc, forming the tip backing, becomes loose, thuscausing further loss. 1

It is well known that the tips of commerce are not uniform, one withanother, in their size or in their consistency, and that each tip is notsymmetrically uniform" in respect to density, and molecular structure.Further, V the cutting, abrading, and bufiing processes do not introducethe qualities which are well knogvn to be highly desirable in tipsofhigh gra e. p y v By the method hereinafter described, theseobjections are overcome, and one tips can be made in any desired numberof sizes, shape and height, and be adhesively attached to the 7 cuepoint ready to be used as soon as adhesive is dry, thereby effecting asubstantial reduction in the time and labor required in tipping cues.Each cue tip of predetermined size is made of the desired density inrespect to its playing surface or closeness of which its molecules arecompacted, and there is a great increase in resiliency; and the shape ofthe tip, because of the compression, becomes practically permanentduring the life of the tip. Indeed, the steps heretofore followed ofcutting away more or less of the volume of the initial blank, did notproduce the desired dis tribution of the molecules, whereas in my methodof makin a tip by compression, all 8 of the initial mo ecules arepreserved, and are compacted into a volume or compass longitudinallyless than that occupied by the same molecules initially, and theresiliency of the material is increased by this treatment. 0 While thetransverse diameter is predetermined, and is,.preferably, the same inthe initial blank that it is in the finished tip, and is maintained byhavingthe same diameter for the cavity in the die, there is a lateralcondensation of the particles at the base of the tip, whichresults fromapplying the pressure longitudinally, as there tends to be an upwardcrowding of the particles, which is resisted by the walls of the die.Consequently, with the finished tip, there is a greatly reduced tendencyfor the particles along the outer edge, that is to say with those thatare adjacent to the base plane of the convex playing surface to becomesharp pointed or ragged, as is common with tips made in the ordinaryway.

In the accompanying drawings there is shown an embodiment of a simplemeans for carrying out the method of my invention, and a tip blank and afinish tip in accordance therewith.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a die, partly in section, adapted tocompress a tip blank into finished form.

Fig. 2 is a plan and side elevation, respectively, of the tip blank.

Fig. 3 is a plan and side elevation, respectively, of the finished tip;and

Fig. 4 shows a finished tip embodying my invention applied to a cue.

A simple form of a compressing device adapted to the practice of myinvention, which is shown in Fig. 1, consists of a female die,comprising two separable sections, 3 and 3*, connected by screw threads,and a male compressing plunger 4 which fits nearly in a central bore inthe section 3, and is of a diameter corresponding with that desired forthe finished tip. A face, 6, which, in this instance, is concave,Corresponding in form with convexity desired to be given to the face ofthe finished tip, is formed on the top of the section, 3, in line,axially, with the bore of the section 3. A leather flat backing disc 7,may be adhesively attached to the bottom of the blank and its functionis to prevent expansion of the bottom 8 of the tip and furnishes a solidnon-yielding surface to attach to the one point by a suitable adhesivemeans.

In producing finished tips with a die structure of the type hereinexemplified, a tip blank 1, preferably as shown in Figs.- 1 and 2,having the playing surface 1*,- curved continuously in convex form fromits flat bottom 8, to the apex 2, is placed in the section, 3, of thefemale die, and the compressing plunger, 41-, inserted therein and byuninterrupted pressure forced down upon the blank, with a predeterminedpressure, thereby compressing the blank and reducing it to the desiredfinished form shown in Fig. 3. By separating the sections of the femaledie, the finished tip can be readily removed.

As shown in Fig. 3, the finished tip has been, by uninterruptedcompression, reduced in depth or thickness, and its playing surfacespread out, from the center of the original rounded or semi-ellipticform shown in Fig.

2, to a less convex form, corresponding to the die.

It is important to note that not all blanks having a convex face wouldbe desirable for my process, such, for example, those of substantlallythe, shape of my finished tip, shown in Fig. 3; that is to say, having acylindrical base portion, 9, and a convex face extending above such baseportion. The convex face of the blank should be continuously curved fromthe plane bottom to its apex, substantially as shown in Fig. 2, as theprovision of a base portion would oppose the production of the desireddensity in the playing surface, and would also cause the tip to becomehard on the edge, by reason of the surplus material, as well as cause itto go out of shape, or go flat.

Cue tips made in accordance with my invention will all be exactly alikein form, and even though some of the blanks should be originally softerthan others, they can be made serviceable by my method, and withoutdanger of unloosening the leather disc portion 7 therefrom. Also thedesired density and formation of playing surface of the tips is assured.It is, in some cases, desirable to obtain substantial uniformity ofdensities over the outer or operating surface Whereas in other cases itis desirable to graduate the densities within restricted limits and myinvention enables any desired distribution of densities to be obtained.The method illustrated in Figure 1 would obviously produce the maximumdensity in the longitudinal axis of the tip. This I effect by the properdesigning of the die surface or that of the tip blank.

The finished tip is substantially convex, and it may be variedinconvexity to suit different players, by proper die formation, andother detail changes may be made without departing from the spirit of myinvention or from the scope of the appended claims.

Among the advantages of my invention the following may be noted:

Finished cue tips can be made in any desired number of sizes to fit thedifferent size cue points and be attached to cue point ready to use,without cutting and shaping to bring it to the desired finished form,thereby effecting a substantial reduction in time and labor in tippingcues. The desired density of playing surface and resiliency is assuredby effecting a proper disposition of its molecules, and prevents theloosening of the under leather caused by the flattening or poundingwhich has heretofore been done to obtain a firm solid hand shaped tip.The

disposition of the molecules, resultant from density of playing surfaceforming the same into a finished cue tip of less convexity of playingsurface with a base portion above the flat bottom.

2. The method of making one tips, which consists in taking a blank ofsuitable material, continuously curved from its bottom to the apex ofthe playing surface and a flat backing disk, and by pressure sufiicientto increase the density of the playing face reducing it to a lessconvexity than initially, and retaining all of the initial material.

3. The method of tipping cues which comprises: providing a finished cuetip of resilient material ready for attachment to a one point withouttrimming or reshaping and having a bottom of substantially the diameterof the one point to be tipped and a convex playing surface which hasbeen reduced by compression to a less convexity than initially, andattaching the tip to the cue point.

4. A finished cue tip of resilient material, ready for attachment to acue point without trimming or reshaping and having a flat bottom and asubstantially convex playing surface reduced by compression to thedesired convexity of playing surface, and to a volume less thaninitially, and having its maximum density in its longitudinal axis.

5. A finished one tip of resilient material, ready for attachment to aone point without retrimming or reshaping and having a flat bottom and asubstantially convex playing face compressed from its original volume tothe desired convexity of playing face with its maximum density in itslon itudinal axis, with its maximum density, an having a cylindricalbase portion of'the diameter of the bottom.

6. A finished cue tip of resilient material, having initially acontinuously curved playing surface extending from the bottom to theapex, and a flat backing disc equal in diameter with the bottom of thetip, compressed to the desired density of playing surface and of lessconvexity than initially.

7 A finished one tip of resilient material ready for attachment to a cuepoint without retrimming or reshaping and having a convex playingsurface formed by compression applied to the entire surface of the blankand having its maximum density in its longitudinal axis.

8. A finished cue tip of resilient material having a convex playingsurface compressed from a blank having a greater convexity of playingsurface, all of the original material of the blank being retained in thefinished tip.

9. A finished one tip of'resilient material ready for attachment to aone point without retrimming or reshaping and having a convex playingsurface, said tip being formed by compression from a blank, having agreater convexity of playing surface than and a able blank bycompression applied to all.

points of the surface and graduated to give the desired convexity ofplaying surface and the maximum density in the longitudinal axis of thetip.

12. The method of making a finished cue tip, having the final form anddistributed texture characteristics desired, which comprises providing adie having substantially the desired form of the entire exposed surfaceof the finished tip above its bottom, dimensioning a tip blank withrespect to said die to produce, when said blank is compressed in saiddie, an inward pressure at each point of said entire exposed surface ofthe tip to efiect a predetermined distribution of density over saidsurface in the finished tip.

13.'The method of producing a finished cue tip, ready for attachment toa cue point without trimming or reshaping, which consists in taking ablank of suitable material and shape and by compression applied'in asingle operation to all points of its surface imparting to said tip thepredetermined density dis tribiiltion and convexity of playing surfacedesire 14. The method of producing a finished cue tip, ready forattachment to a cue point without trimming or reshaping, which consistsin taking a blank of suitable material and shape and by compressionapplied to all points of its surface imparting to said tip the convexityof playing surface desired, with the maximum density in the longitudinalaxis of the tip.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name.

JAMES B. CROOKSTON.

